


Spring Break

by Rahenna



Series: Becoming Suzubishi [15]
Category: Gakuen Heaven 2 ~Double Scramble~
Genre: Developing Relationship, Family, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 09:59:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13656669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rahenna/pseuds/Rahenna
Summary: Tomo never thought he'd volunteer to take on extra studies over spring break, especially English lessons. As he prepares to start his second year at Bell Liberty, he also begins preparing to test himself and find out if he wants to become part of Suzubishi. But Tomo wonders why Keita is studying along with him - is it a show of support, or something more?





	Spring Break

**Author's Note:**

> I give up on writing anything on a schedule. It'll happen when it happens. :p
> 
> Still, it feels like a massive accomplishment to get this story to the second year of school! Now the real work begins for Tomo. And Yuki too, but that means I have to stop dragging my feet on Ace of Hearts too... well, as usual, I have a bunch of things done already, just out of order. Sigh.
> 
> ~~~
> 
> Contains spoilers for Gakuen Heaven 2. If you intend to play the game yourself, reading this may ruin your fun a bit. :)
> 
> If you want to know more about the Gakuen Heaven series, please visit my fansite for game translations and summaries:  
> [welcome to Heaven](http://heaven.neo-romance.net/)

**Saturday, April 7, 2018**

I chewed on the end of my pencil, frowning at the workbook in front of me. If any of my classmates caught me doing extra English lessons on the final weekend of spring break, they would have thought they'd wandered into an alternate dimension. Especially because Professor Ito was seated at the dining room table with me, making faces at the same workbook.

No one would find it weirder than I did, though. I couldn't remember the last time I'd taken on extra work because I wanted to do it, rather than because I felt pressured to achieve more. Sure, Suzubishi-san wanted me to get better at English and to try harder in class, but I wasn't doing it for him. For once, I was doing my best for myself. For the first time ever, I wanted to try finding my limits, reaching the boundaries of what was possible for my mind, not to earn a scrap of praise or a pat on the head, but because I honestly didn't know where those limits were. 

But I'd be lying to myself if I said the whole Suzubishi thing wasn't a part of it too. I wouldn't have considered extra work if thoughts of that potential future weren't looming in the back of my mind, feeling like an exciting opportunity one moment but an oppressive demand the next. Yeah, it would be amazing to become someone who was qualified to head up a huge multinational corporation, but the amount of extra work and responsibility was terrifying. Did I want to do it? I wasn't sure.

Suzubishi-san had finally sat down to discuss it with me about a month ago, laying out the details of various skills I'd need to learn and extra training that would be provided to help me catch up. I'd agreed to start English lessons - my greatest weakness, and the one that would take the most work to improve to an acceptable level - and to advance to hard level classes in school. If that went well, then we'd add some self-study of business principles and management techniques. 

It was a lot to think about, but I was okay with that much. Those things would help me in my position as director, and I wanted to do that job to the best of my ability. And since I had no idea what my limits were, I had to train myself, same as with running. All the extra study and work planned for the coming year was just a warm-up for the real question, though: how far did I want to go as part of the Suzubishi family and company?

I didn't know. It wasn't just the bit of awkwardness that still lingered in my interactions with Suzubishi-san, but also a general discomfort with the idea of thinking deeply about my future. For years, my life had been a series of individual days, each one a self-contained struggle with a simple goal: survive until the next day. With the concept of time transformed from discrete nuggets into a continuous ribbon, I was at a bit of a loss. What did normal people do with blocks of time bigger than a single day? How did they decide what to do when there were so many options?

How could an ordinary guy like me become someone worthy of the Suzubishi name?

I suppressed a sigh. At least I didn't have to decide right away. I had until the end of the year at the very least, which sounded like a long time most days. On others, my gut tightened in panic if I thought about it too much. Anyone would say that Suzubishi-san was being more than generous, gently pushing me to make more of an effort in my studies, advising me on how to use those experiences to inform my final decision, and giving me time to come to that decision. Well, he said that, but I knew that if I didn't choose quickly, I'd risk falling so far behind that catching up would be impossible.

Thinking and worrying about it like that made it seem like I'd already made a decision. That wasn't true, though. I was just being practical, testing out the workload to see if I could manage it, and challenging my brain so I could figure out if it would even be possible for me. If I accepted the adoption, my life would become a neverending prep session full of classes and books and independent studies. By taking on extra work now, I'd discover if I was cut out for that sort of thing.

I smiled to myself. I definitely didn't want to end up like Professor Sakaki's brother, destroying everything I stuck my nose into. The truth of the secret accounts had never been leaked to the public, but it seemed like every issue of the monthly business journals I read had an opinion piece about the sorry state of Sakaki Pharmaceuticals, usually peppered with speculation about possible internal corruption. I almost felt sorry for the guy. Had he always been crooked, or was he simply unfit for the job and desperate to cover up his lack of competence? If I was going to avoid a similar fate, I'd have to study hard and be humble enough to bow out gracefully if I discovered I couldn't live up to the expectations others would have of me. Failure had never been an option before. I'd always been told I was smart and that I could do anything if I put my mind to it, and that had been borne out by the way I'd picked up all sorts of programming knowledge.

But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a lie. Anyone could become reasonably successful if they put in a crazy amount of time and effort. That wasn't proof of being smart or talented. What was it like to make only a normal effort and still come to a deep understanding of a complex subject? All I'd done up until now was simply memorize the steps needed to achieve a particular result, drilling the rules into my brain and writing practice code until my fingertips hurt. So where did my natural talents lie?

I glanced down at the sea of letters in front of me and made a face. Not in the realm of languages, that was for sure. The exercise in front of me that demanded 'fill in the correct prepositions, articles, and verb endings' may as well have been asking for the cure for cancer.

_Someone call ___ (a/the) policeman!_  
_Someone call ___ (a/the) police!_

I frowned at the two sentences. What was the difference? I skipped to the next set.

_What are you doing (at/on/in) Saturday?_  
_I haven't visited home (for/since/on) December._

Those were a little less annoying. I circled the answers that made the most sense to me, though I wasn't confident about any of my choices. There was no logic to any of it. Sure, there were rules about how to pronounce things, and which verb endings to use, and spelling, and grammar, but what good was it when almost every single example was meant to point out an exception to those rules? I was quickly realizing that the memorization and translation exercises that we all had to suffer through in class were useless if you actually wanted to learn the language. I never felt like I was making progress, except when the private tutor was here forcing us to repeat words over and over until they sounded like nonsense, or when Suzubishi-san made us have simple conversations about mundane topics. The problem was, the tutor only came once a week, and Suzubishi-san wasn't always around to make sure we were practicing.

I made a face. As much as I hated to admit it, brute force memorization wasn't going to defeat this monster. Hadn't Professor Sakaki said something recently about the disadvantage of being naturally smart? You could coast along without really trying for a long time, but once you had to start making a real effort, you were screwed because you had no idea how to study.

Well, he'd also said something about arrogant brats who deserved being put in their place. Trust the professor to seize every opportunity to make a point in the bluntest way possible. I smiled bitterly. Maybe this beatdown from simple English homework was a lesson in humility.

I glanced up, wondering if Professor Ito was doing any better with his worksheet. He _was_ a teacher, after all, and good enough for Bell Liberty despite being in all regular classes during his time as a student. That meant he had to be a master of study techniques by now. At least, that's what I thought, until I realized that he was staring down at the workbook with an expression of despair, brows drawn together so tightly that a little line had formed between them. It made him look older than he was. 

That was another mystery - not that Professor Ito was having trouble with English lessons, but why was he bothering in the first place? At first I'd thought he was playing along to show his support for me, and I'd fully expected him to back out once the lessons got more complicated, but he'd persisted without complaint from the very beginning. If anything, he was probably trying harder than me, and he'd mentioned practicing conversation with Suzubishi-san throughout the week. There was no way he was going through all that effort just to make me feel like I wasn't doing it alone.

It was definitely weird. I'd been wanting to ask about it for a while, and I had my suspicions about why he was trying so hard, but there hadn't been a good opportunity to ask him about it. Until now. With Suzubishi-san away on another business trip and not scheduled to return for a few more days, I finally had a chance to speak to the professor without things getting too awkward.

I reached out to poke his book with the tip of my pencil. "Professor, I think it's time for a break."

"Ah!" He jumped, glancing up in surprise. "Oh, you startled me, Kasahara-kun."

"Sorry. I guess you were really concentrating." My eyes swept over the page, confirming that his progress had been just as slow as mine. "It looks like we're both about halfway done, so this is a good place to pause, right?"

"Yes. Yes, it is," he sighed, dropping his pencil and leaning forward to rest his head in his hands. "I feel like my brain is leaking out of my ears. It's not, is it?"

Heh, the professor always had a way with words. No wonder he was so popular with the students. "Not yet, but we probably shouldn't take any chances."

"Yes, please." The professor stretched his arms overhead with a sound that was more like a defeated sigh than a yawn. "How are you doing with your exercises, Kasahara-kun? Do you feel like you're understanding things better now?"

"Well..." I bit my lip, wondering if it was a good time to ask the questions that had been hovering in the back of my mind ever since the talk with Suzubishi-san. There would never be an ideal time - and if there was, I wouldn't realize it until the moment had passed - so I decided to go for it. "Actually, there's a lot of things I don't understand. I wanted to ask you about them."

"Huh, me? I don't think that's a good idea, we should wait until Ueno-san's next lesson."

I shook my head. "Not about English. It's just..." I forced myself to meet his eyes. "Um, this might seem really sudden and too blunt, but I've been wondering about the whole Suzubishi thing for a while. I get how Suzubishi-san wants me to make more of an effort and see if I'm interested in being adopted, but you're also studying English now, so I kind of thought you might be preparing for something too, but no one's explained anything, so... um."

Crap. Why was my confidence betraying me all of a sudden? If I could take down President Sakaki, surely I could ask Professor Ito a personal question that concerned my future as well as his. I took another moment to gather my courage and pressed on. "What I'm trying to ask is how you fit into the picture, Professor. I know Suzubishi-san will ask for his parents' approval if I decide I want to be adopted, but aren't they going to bother him about getting married and stuff like that? Or do they already know about you guys?"

A few seconds ticked by without a response, and a hot sweat broke out on the back of my neck. Had I gone too far? But then Professor Ito let out a quiet sigh, not an annoyed or exasperated sound, but one that was almost amused. "Ah, so that's what you've been thinking about. Kazuki didn't explain it to you when you discussed the possibility of adoption?"

I shook my head, and Professor Ito sighed. "Ugh, Kazuki, why are you so annoying? Don't worry, Kasahara-kun, I'll have a little chat with him when he gets back from his trip."

"Er, you don't have to go that far..."

"I do, because he promised he was going to be more open about things." He rested his chin on his hand and heaved another huge sigh. "Okay. Now I understand why you've been a little hesitant recently. I thought it was the pressure of thinking about making such a huge decision. I guess Kazuki is still intimidated by the thought of talking to you."

Wait, what? "Huh? Intimidated by _me?_ Isn't it the other way around?"

"Kasahara-kun, do you still feel uncomfortable around Kazuki? I guess that's a silly question to ask, it's easy enough to see when I watch you two have a conversation." Professor Ito leaned a little closer, like he was about to tell me a secret. "But it's the same for him too. I know it's going to take time to build up trust after the mistakes and misunderstandings when you two first met, and Kazuki is afraid that he'll damage the relationship even more without realizing it. So he's been holding back, not wanting to upset you."

"Holding back really isn't going to help anything," I muttered.

"I know. I'll talk to him later. But until I get him straightened out, you can ask me any questions you have, and I'll answer the best I can." He smiled a little. "After all, it sounds like your questions are about me, so I'm the best person to answer them."

"Yeah, that's true." Honestly, I was kind of annoyed that Suzubishi-san was avoiding me, but since he wasn't around, there wasn't anything I could do about it. "So, could you tell me what's going on, at least your part of it?"

"Of course. There's still some parts I'm trying to figure out too, because once again, Kazuki is trying to tiptoe around conversations that might be uncomfortable." The professor shook his head. "It must seem weird to you, but Kazuki is almost like two different people. At work, he's so confident and handles tough meetings without ever losing his cool, but when it comes to family and close friends, he can be really insecure. I think that part comes from growing up without having a lot of free time for family and friends, and getting private tutoring instead of attending school normally. I think it's made him a bit clingy when it comes to the people he cares about most, and he doesn't want to upset anyone. Mm, what I'm trying to say is, he holds back instead of sharing his worries, even if it would make a lot more sense to speak up."

"So he hasn't told you his plans for the future?"

"It's not really that. It's more like... he doesn't want to discuss the possibility that someone could be hurt by what happens. If his parents object to us being together, it's going to force him to make a tough decision." Professor Ito fell quiet for a few moments, staring down at his clasped hands. "I know he'd put me first. Kazuki's always put me first. But I also know that he loves his parents, and they're good people who want the best for him. I've met them a few times, and they've always been friendly and welcoming, not at all what you'd expect from a family with so much status. I don't want to end up being the wedge that drives his family apart."

"You don't know that's going to happen, though," I pointed out. "Maybe Suzubishi-san has already spoken to them, and just hasn't told you yet?"

"No, I'm sure he hasn't. His parents know I'm the boy who came over to play that one summer when Kazuki was staying with his grandfather, and they also know that I went to Bell Liberty because of a promise he made to me back then. In their eyes, I'm Kazuki's best friend, and right now we're all content to keep it that way. Same with my parents. They have no idea who Kazuki really is, so they just think he's the ordinary but quirky best friend I met in high school."

"Really, so no one knows you two are together? Except Dr. Matsuoka, I guess. That must be pretty hard to deal with." Hiding my position as director was hard enough. I couldn't imagine trying to keep a serious and intimate relationship under wraps. It would be like pretending that Yuki and I weren't friends at all.

"Well, it seems like Professor Sakaki figured it out too." Professor Ito looked vaguely embarrassed. "I hope I wasn't the one who gave it away somehow. We don't talk about it, and I know he won't tell anyone else, so that's fine. Oh, and Tomoko knows too."

"Tomoko?"

"My little sister. She's a little older than you, just starting university this year. She was suspicious ever since she was a kid, and it's hard to keep secrets from a persistent, nosy girl like her." The professor shook his head, but his smile was fond. "She's also the only one outside the school who knows Kazuki's true identity. At first I was worried because she likes to gossip, but I'm pretty sure she'll take that secret to the grave if necessary. My mom's always pestering her about finding a good boyfriend, but she'd crank that up to eleven if she knew about Kazuki."

"Heh, can't do much better than the heir of Suzubishi, huh? That's kind of unfair."

"Seriously." The professor's smile faded. "That's why things are complicated. Sometimes I forget that Kazuki is such a high-profile person, but he has a personal assistant and an official media spokesperson, someone who sets his appearance and style, bodyguards--"

I couldn't help interrupting. "What, bodyguards? I've never seen anyone..."

"Well, that's the point. They're invisible until you need them. I mean, they don't come into the apartment but I know there's someone keeping watch outside every time Kazuki is here."

"That's... isn't that kind of worrying? I mean, they must know, right?"

Professor Ito shrugged. "Maybe? They're professionals, so I don't think there's anything to worry about. It took me a while to get used to it too, but there's eyes on Kazuki all the time. It's not the people on the Suzubishi side that I'm worried about. It would be a huge scandal if our relationship was revealed to the public by accident. The reaction could affect his entire family, all the Suzubishi businesses, maybe even everyone who works for those companies."

I nodded. "Yeah. Public opinion can be a scary thing."

"Right? That's why this is so important." He gestured toward the workbooks on the table. "You're working hard to prepare for being part of Suzubishi, and it's just as important for me too. I need to become a person who can stand proudly beside Kazuki and help him make the company and his ideas a success. Outsiders are going to look at us and say that he could do better, that he could have anyone so why me, or that he should have married a rich woman and kept me on the side. I can't control what other people are going to think of me, but I can try my best to become a person who can support him in a meaningful way. I won't let anyone say I'm not making an effort."

At that moment, eyes narrowed with determination and voice flat with seriousness, Professor Ito was transformed. He was more than the friendly and cheerful new teacher who coaxed students to try harder and sometimes made mistakes; he was an honest person working hard to build the strength to pursue his ideals.

_Like Brother, and Yuki, and maybe even me..._

I smiled, warmed from within by the realization. This was the kind of person who'd been asked to watch over me, someone else who was unsure and trying to find his place in the world. Strange that we might both find that place by becoming part of the same family.

Professor Ito mirrored my smile. "You're making a good effort too, Kasahara-kun. I know you haven't made your decision yet, but I want you to know that whatever you decide, it's not going to change your relationship with me and Kazuki, unless you want it to. I'm going to stand by Kazuki no matter what happens in the future, even if his parents reject us. The two of us will stand by you too. If you don't want to be part of Suzubishi, that's fine. You won't lose your family." 

"Family..."

I didn't realize I'd repeated the word until the professor lowered his eyes, looking vaguely embarrassed. "Oh, sorry. It's a bit early to say 'family,' but I wanted you to know that we'll be there for you, whatever you decide. Though it might make life a little hard for you too, having two guys as your guardians..."

"Professor, believe me, I'd much rather have you guys as family than the couple that adopted me." A twisted smile came to my lips. "Besides, if Suzubishi-san wants to hack into something, he can just do it himself, right?"

The professor stifled a giggle. "Well, that's true. I think Kazuki's programming skills might be getting a bit rusty, though. The two of you should have a contest. My money's on you, Kasahara-kun."

I was quiet for a few moments. If we were going to make jokes about my past and talk honestly about the future, wasn't it time to stop being so damn formal? 

Before I could say anything, Professor Ito ducked his head. "Urgh, sorry, Kasahara-kun. I shouldn't be making light of your past."

I shook my head. "No, that's not it. Actually, it feels kind of good to poke fun at that sort of thing. I guess that means I'm getting over it. And it made me realize that don't want either of you guys calling me Kasahara anymore. It's too formal. So, would you call me Tomo from now on?"

The professor's face lit up. "Really? Is that okay, Kasahara-kun?"

"Tomo," I prompted with a smile.

"Oh, right! Tomo-kun. Ah, that sounds so nice..." 

"Yeah, that does sound pretty good. I should have asked you sooner. I'm sorry."

"No, it was my fault too." He stared down at his textbook for a while, taking a few seconds to gather his thoughts. "I was really annoyed that day you and Kazuki started being less formal with each other. It felt incredibly unfair because the two of you didn't get along that well, but you always seemed to be comfortable around me. I felt a little betrayed."

"Yeah, I know. I could tell you were disappointed. It wasn't planned or anything, Suzubishi-san talked to me about some important things right when I was feeling super vulnerable. I got some good advice, and it just happened. Honestly, it was pretty embarrassing. After that, I felt like there was never a good opportunity to ask you, and as time went by it started feeling more and more awkward. I finally realized I needed to suck it up and ask. Sorry for taking so long."

He finally glanced up again, a light blush on his cheeks. "No, it's fine... I should have said something instead of waiting and feeling sorry for myself. But I didn't want to push you."

"It's okay to push me sometimes." I tapped the English workbook. "Like with this stuff. I'm not the kind of person who thinks about the future. At first it was because I was a kid, but after I was adopted, it was better to live one day at a time. Thinking too much only made it harder to pretend that I was happy. So... you know." I shrugged, trying to ignore the unpleasant memories that threatened to well up. "I need encouragement from people who are looking out for me. The way Brother used to push me, and the way Yuki does now. And you and Suzubishi-san too, even if I couldn't see it that way at first because of what was going on around me."

The professor nodded, making a quiet sound of agreement. "We didn't understand either, or we would have tried harder to help you. I should have asked more questions and looked more deeply into the meaning behind your personal records. I'm sorry, Kasahara-kun. I mean... Tomo-kun."

A smile came to my lips at his correction. Yeah, that sounded nice. "You don't have to keep apologizing, I was the one who was hiding the truth. We all messed up, but it's all been resolved for a long time and I'm over it. I want to start thinking about my future now, not my past."

"Haha, Tomo-kun, you're so mature."

"Really? I don't think so. I'm the guy who was literally running away from my problems because I didn't know any other way to deal with them." I glanced toward the entryway, where the running shoes Yuki had gotten me for my birthday were sitting. "I still do it sometimes. At school I'm surrounded by guys who know exactly what they want to do in the future, but the only reason I'm there is because I got really good at indulging in my bad habit."

The professor's hand covered mine, his touch light but warm. "Tomo-kun, it's not fair to call it your bad habit. You were a child in an impossible situation. It was a coping mechanism. It's true that it's not a healthy behavior, but you didn't have any other way to safely express your frustration and all your other feelings. You just said it yourself, didn't you? You didn't know any other way to deal with all the problems that were piled on you."

"I guess..."

"There's no 'I guess' about it. You did the best you could with your limited resources. But," his hand squeezed mine gently, "now you have access to all the resources in the world. And it's okay if you don't know what you need, Tomo-kun, we'll help you figure it out. I know it's hard, but I'm asking you to take a risk and trust us. Trust _me_. Even though I failed you at first, even though I still don't know everything about your past. I want to do better. I want to help you."

"I know," I murmured, my voice a dry whisper that caught on the lump in my throat. "I'm trying. Trusting people doesn't come easily to me."

"You trust Asahina-kun and Professor Sakaki. And I've noticed you opening up a little more to your classmates too. You're doing fine, Tomo-kun. It's okay to take your time. No one expects a person with a broken leg to get up and walk perfectly the next day, right? Your hurt was emotional, not physical, but that doesn't make it any less real."

The cheesiness of his very sincere statement made me laugh a little. "I think you've been hanging out with Dr. Matsuoka a little too much, Professor Ito, you sound just like him."

He pulled his hand back to cover his mouth as he giggled, and the nervous tension drained from my shoulders. I didn't mind him touching my hand, but it felt awkward and unnatural. As a kid, I'd spent plenty of evenings tucked under Brother's arm as he read to me, or snuggled up against his side during a nap. I couldn't remember if I'd ever been hugged by the couple that adopted me, except a couple of times at the orphanage right before the adoption was finalized. Yuki was the only person who touched me on a regular basis, always ready with a grin and a hug. At least, until I'd told him about my crush. Now he was more careful, usually remembering to ask before going in for the hug, which was a little sad, but...

Of course, Professor Ito was oblivious to my thoughts. "Haha, well, I've known Dr. Matsuoka for a long time now. It's only natural if we've started to pick up little quirks from each other." He paused, blinking as if he'd just noticed something. "Hey, wait a minute. No more of this 'Professor Ito' stuff, I forbid it. Familiarity goes both ways, Tomo-kun. You can call me Keita."

"Huh?" The sudden change of subject caught me by surprise, and it took a few moments to put together a response. "Oh, um... I'm not sure how that would work. I mean, you're a teacher, so it would feel wrong to stop using your title. Even if I only did it on the weekends, I might I slip up in class and that would be suspicious, right?"

"Hm..." He thought for a moment, then brightened up again. "It wouldn't be suspicious if you called me 'Professor Keita' like some of the other students do. If anyone questions it, you can say it's because I'm giving you extra tutoring in history. How about that?"

Man, it was hard to be put on the spot all of a sudden. I forced myself to make eye contact, hoping that my nervous smile didn't come across as insincere. "I think that would work. I'll probably mess up a few times until I get used to it, though..."

"That's okay, I don't mind." He smiled.

Urgh, it was an expectant smile. I bit my lip, trying not to fidget in my chair. "Erm... thanks. I'll do my best to remember, um... Professor Keita." I couldn't look him in the eye as I said it.

"That sounds nice. Thank you, Tomo-kun." The warmth and seriousness of his tone soothed my embarrassment, just a little. "I know it will take some time to adjust. Don't feel like you have to do it all the time. Whenever you're ready, okay?"

I nodded, still avoiding eye contact. "Yeah. Okay."

A few awkward seconds passed. "Mm, actually, could I make one more request? It's a little bit selfish, so you don't have to say yes. But, well... Kazuki got a hug, didn't he? Could I get a hug?"

The childish, pouty tone cut through my embarrassment, and I had to cover my mouth in a vain attempt to stifle a snort. "Oops, sorry... I wasn't expecting that. Maybe I should have expected it, though. Yeah, it's okay."

"It's okay? Really?" Professor Ito - er, Keita - hopped up from his chair with childlike enthusiasm. I stood too, the sense of awkwardness returning in full force as he stepped around the table to wrap his arms around me. I froze for a second, then forced myself to relax and return the embrace, trying not to focus on stupid things like how weird it was to hug someone who was older but shorter, and just how much of a squeeze was appropriate for a first hug, and isn't this hug getting too long but who should pull away first?!?

He finally let me go, grinning like a kid on Christmas morning. "Yeah, that was nice. Thanks, Tomo-kun, I'm sure that was hard for you. I won't ask again, though. You decide when you're ready."

I didn't know what to say, so I just nodded.

"I guess we should get back to that English work now." The professor made a face, glancing down at the workbooks on the table. "Let's make a deal. If we finish before five, we can go out for dinner instead of eating leftovers again. But we both have to make an honest effort. No random guessing, Tomo-kun."

I sank back into my chair, grateful for the change of subject. "Heh, you too, Professor."

~ end ~


End file.
